The public sector continues to play a strategic role across the world. The last thirty years have seen major shifts in approaches to public sector management in many countries. There is also a fierce debate across academic disciplines about contemporary public administration/management: some advocate the use of more managerialist approaches; while others see managerialism as undermining democratic institutions. New roles have arisen, such as programme evaluation, management consulting, and reliance on NGOs and partnerships, which require new assessments. There is an intensified need for an analysis of contemporary public sector organisations, which are changing rapidly before our eyes.
It is thus time for an authoritative treatment of the major trends in public management, embracing both their intended and unintended consequences. This Handbook brings together leading international scholars to comment on key current issues. The individual chapters include broad overviews, in depth explorations of particular thematic areas and analyses of different theoretical perspectives such as political science, management, sociology and economics. The authors have space to develop their distinctive arguments. The editors provide an overall concluding chapter. The Handbook combines scholarly rigour, engaging writing and high policy relevance. It will be invaluable to advanced students, researchers and reflective public sector practitioners.

This report surveys the current state of civil service in Indonesia from a comprehensive, data-driven perspective and explores the current challenges facing the countryOs bureaucracy. Modern civil service must be composed of competent, dedicated, and mission-driven public servants to harness opportunities and improve public service delivery with emerging technology. It also needs to proactively adapt and respond to evolving challenges. Based on the civil serviceOs size and composition, data on public service delivery, and public opinion, the report identifies improvements necessary to increase the basic competencies of civil servants in the country.